Photo: Onasill ~ Bill - 103 Million Views - Thank You · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents aged 65 and over make up 22% in Fergus, more than in 69% of Canadian towns
Most recent wave: just over one in ten immigrants arrived in 2011–2021 (Canada’s towns: 27%). Two in five residents said they have no religion. Few places have so few one-person households: 23% here, fewer than in 66% of Canadian towns. With about 34,565 residents in July 2025, Fergus counted 11,975 households at the 2021 Census. Every figure here is for Centre Wellington as a whole, the municipality Fergus belongs to.
Since 2016, Fergus has grown +10%, faster than 82% of Canadian towns
The 2021 Census is the source of every figure here unless a date says otherwise. The census counts of 2016 and 2021, the estimate after them, and the change set beside other towns.
Change, 2016 to 2021
Statistics Canada’s estimate for July 2025 is 11% higher again. Across Canada’s towns the median change is +4%; across Ontario’s towns, +6%.
Older than 64% of Canadian towns: half of Fergus is over 44.4
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 7.6% of residents. Higher than in 63% of Canadian towns: 17% of residents are under 15.
Median age of Canadian towns of 2,500+
■ Fergus, 44.4. The typical town is 42.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women.
Larger households than 67% of Canadian towns: 2.6 people on average
Households by family type and by the number of people in them.
Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns
People per household
Canada’s towns.
The share of one-parent families trails 70% of Canadian towns: 7%.
Married residents 15 and over make up 55% in Fergus, more than in 80% of Canadian towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, with common-law couples counted apart.
Marital status · residents 15 and over
Singles who have never married make up just over a fifth of adults, beside a typical 27%. Common-law partners account for 9.4%. Across the comparison, 46% of residents 15 and over are married across Canada’s towns.
A smaller share of renter households than 63% of Canadian towns: 19%
Houses and apartments, owners and renters, older and newer homes. Prices, rents and shelter costs are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Owners and renters · share of households
When homes were built · share of homes
In Fergus, 73% of households live in a single-detached house, beside 64% across Canada’s towns. Households in buildings of five or more storeys are more common here than in 60% of Canadian towns. Typically, a quarter of households rent their home across Canada’s towns. 30% of homes were built in 2001 or later, more than the 20% built before 1961.
$101,000 a year is the median household income here
Census incomes cover 2020, when emergency benefits like CERB lifted many households’ totals. Household income before tax: the median, and households by income group.
Households by income · share of households
The median across Canada’s towns is $86,000; Fergus’s, at $101,000, is 17% higher. $91,600 is the median household income across Ontario’s towns. The pandemic’s benefits: 22% of income recipients, against 28% in the typical town.
In Fergus, 10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 56% of Canadian towns
Immigrants by continent of birth and when they arrived, citizenship, and who moved in recently.
Immigrants, by continent of birth · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
When immigrants arrived · share of immigrants
Citizenship and moving · share of residents
Set against 5.8% across Canada’s towns, 2.7% of residents are not Canadian citizens in Fergus. Immigrants here were most often born in Europe (66%), then in Asia (17%). 11% of residents are immigrants, a lower share than in 61% of Canadian towns.
57% said they are Christian and 40% that they have no religion
Identity and faith, in the census’s categories.
Visible minority and Indigenous identity · all residents
Religion · all residents
Compared with 15% across Canada’s towns, 5.2% of residents belong to a visible minority here. For Fergus, the census puts Indigenous residents at 1.8%.
English is the mother tongue of 91%, and 6.3% speak French as well
English, French and the other languages people grew up with or speak at home.
Can hold a conversation in · share of all residents
Mother tongue · share of all residents
Residents whose mother tongue is French: 0.9%, near enough the figure across Canada’s towns. Set against 7.5% across Canada’s towns, 6.3% of residents speak English and French in Fergus.
A university degree: 27% of 25- to 64-year-olds
Education of residents 25 to 64, by highest credential.
Highest qualification · residents 25 to 64
At the other end, 8.6% hold no certificate, diploma or degree, against a typical 9.5%.
An employment rate of 60%
The census counted work in May 2021, mid-pandemic, so read these rates as a pandemic snapshot. The census’s work rates at a glance. Jobs, industries and the commute are on Work & commute.
More people work here than in the typical town: 60%, against 58% across Canada’s towns.
Ranked by age, 10th oldest of 41 towns this size
Similar-sized towns by median age; each dot is a town.
The group spans DT Core, youngest at 34.8, to Sorel-Tracy, oldest at 53.2. By median age, Fergus sits among Val-d'Or (43.2), LaSalle (44), Parkland County (45.2) and Saint-Georges (45.6).
1 in 5 nearby towns have a higher median age than Fergus
Neighbouring places and their median ages; each name opens its page. No closer places have figures: these lie 20–23 km from Fergus.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Immigrants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fergus | 34,565 | — | 44.4 | 22% | 11% |
| Rockwood | 14,870 | 20.1 km | 45.2 | 19% | 14% |
| Elmira | 31,382 | 20.4 km | 39.6 | 18% | 13% |
| East Garafraxa | 2,976 | 21.4 km | 44 | 16% | 16% |
| Grand Valley | 4,759 | 22.1 km | 36.8 | 12% | 16% |
| Guelph | 160,760 | 22.6 km | 38.4 | 16% | 24% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The census’s own words. Indigenous identity, immigrant status and religion are as residents answered them. “Visible minority” follows the Employment Equity Act, meaning people other than Indigenous peoples who are non-white in colour or race. We compare these figures across towns; none is a label for a town.
- Against Ontario’s towns and Canada’s towns. For each measure we take the median of Ontario’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, then the median of all Canadian towns. Neither counts whole cities or reserves, and every percentile is a Canadian one.
- What these tables don’t give. Missing from the census as published: unpaid care, cars and internet access, and the shift in each age band since 2016. Ethnic origins past visible minority and Indigenous identity aren’t charted here.
Questions about Fergus’s residents
What religion are people in Fergus?
57% are Christian and 40% have no religion; 2.8% follow another religion.
Is Fergus good for families?
Under 15: 17% (Canada’s towns: 16%). Couple families: 62% of households. One-parent families: 7%. Schools near Fergus are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Fergus?
The median household in Fergus took in $101,000 in 2020, against $86,000 across Canada’s towns.
What is the population of Fergus?
Fergus had about 34,565 residents in July 2025, Statistics Canada estimates; the 2021 Census counted 31,093, 10% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Fergus?
A median age of 44.4, older than 64% of Canadian towns. Children under 15 make up 17%, and people 65 and over 22%.
Is Fergus bilingual?
Both official languages are spoken by 6.3% of residents, against a typical 7.5% across Canada’s towns. 93% speak only English and 0% only French; 0.9% grew up with French.
How diverse is Fergus?
11% of residents are immigrants (Canada’s towns: 17%); 5.2% belong to a visible minority and 1.8% have an Indigenous identity.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population · Statistics Canada, population estimates for 1 July 2025 (table 17-10-0155). Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).